Restoration Period

1. Restoration Period

2. When did the Renaissance Period end and the Restoration Period begin?A number of dates could be used to hallmark the change.

3. The Restoration 1625-1798 Charles II (r. 1625-1649)

4. 1625: James I, Elizabeth I’s successor, dies and Charles I, his son, inherits the throne

5. 1642

6. Charles I’s clashes with Parliament led to revolt and his execution in 1649. • England is left without a monarch for almost a decade The English Civil War • The Puritan Oliver Cromwell and • Parliament ruled until Cromwell’s • death in 1658, but his policies • had alienated much of the country.

7. Tired of the wars and contention of the past 20 • years, Parliament invited Charles II back from exile • in France • Charles brought back with him • a love of fashion, the arts, and • reopened theaters. • Allowed people to celebrate • holidays. • (All forbidden under Puritan rule) The Restoration of the Monarchy 1660

8. Monarchy of England restored after years of harsh Parliamentary Dictatorship* French influence * Divine Right * Catholic

9. London Disasters:1664: plague outbreak kills thousands

10. 1666: The Great Fire

11. James II succeeded Charles II in 1685. • 1685: James II, Charles II’s brother, becomes • king • A devout Catholic, James • clashed with Parliament over religion. More Trouble

12. * alienates virtually every politically and militarily significant segment of English society* attempts to Catholicize the army and the government* packs parliament with supporters, BUT the final straw…

13. HE HAD A SON THAT WOULDBE RAISED CATHOLIC!

14. In 1688 Parliament invited Mary, the protestant • daughter of the king and her husband, • William of Orange, to rule jointly. The Glorious Revolution • James II fled to France. No • blood was shed and there • was much rejoicing.

15. In 1689 Parliament passed a • Bill of Rights, limiting the power • of the monarchy Limiting Royal Power • In succeeding years, a cabinet • of ministers led by the Prime • Minister would gradually • begin to rule England.

16. As agricultural practices improved, towns • and cities grew because less workers were • needed on farms. • Industrialization and inventions • after 1750 led to growth of • large factories in cities • and increased wealth. Social Trends

17. “How” questions replaced “Why” questions • about nature, the human body, and the • universe. • Most philosophers and • scientists remained very • religious. The Enlightenment--The Age of Reason • View of God changed, • with Deism becoming • widely accepted • among intellectuals.

18. The Enlightenment--The Age of Reason • Superstitions concerning • natural phenomena • were dispelled. • Edmund Halley predicted • the path of comets • and when they would • occur.

19. The Enlightenment--The Age of Reason • By the end of this era progress, for many, • was equated with misery. • Some began to lose faith in man’s ability • to solve every problem with reason.

20. This is also the period of the American Revolution (Go Yankees!);the French Revolution (Cie la guerre!);the Agricultural Revolution(Drive those poor farmers off their land!); and….

21. the Industrial Revolution (Stomp the working classes into the mud andpollute everything!) Cough, Cough.

22. Hence, another name frequently given to this time period is the Age of…..

24. Writing of the Restoration • The style was witty, sophisticated, and • self-conscious. • There was a fondness for • satire. • Aphorisms—short statements • that express a viewpoint or • truth—were popular. Samuel Johnson

25. METAPHYSICAL POETRY

26. Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the natural world. • It is the study of being and reality. • It asks fundamental questions such as: “Is there a God?” and “What is man’s place in the universe?” • This study also includes questions of space, time, causality, existence, and possibility.

27. Definition of “metaphysical”: • concerned with abstract thought or subjects, as existence, causality, or truth • designating or pertaining to the poetry of an early group of 17th-century English poets, notably John Donne, whose characteristic style is highly intellectual and philosophical and features intensive use of ingenious conceits and turns of wit

28. Metaphysical poetry was written in the 17th century by British poets. • These poets did not term themselves “metaphysical poets,” the name came much later as Samuel Johnson attempted to classify the type of poetry that came from this period.

29. What is a metaphysical poem? • Metaphysical poetry is concerned with the whole experience of man, but the intelligence, learning and seriousness of the poets means that the poetry is about the profound areas of experience especially - about love, romantic and sensual; about man's relationship with God - the eternal perspective, and, to a less extent, about pleasure, learning and art.

30. concerned with the whole experience of man • poetry is about the profound areas of experience • especially - about love, romantic and sensual • about man's relationship with God • the eternal perspective • to a less extent, about pleasure, learning and art.

31. Metaphysical poems are lyric poems. • They are brief but intense meditations, characterized by striking use of wit, irony and wordplay. • Beneath the formal structure (of rhyme, meter, and stanza) is the underlying (and often hardly less formal) structure of the poem's argument. • Note: that there may be two (or more) kinds of arguments in a poem.

32. LOOKING AT THE POEMS’ ARGUMENTS • Looking at the poets' technique should, perhaps, begin with a consideration of argument. • In a way all of the poems have an argument, but it is interesting or striking in some more than others.

33. Conceit • A conceit is an extended, elaborate metaphor. An extended metaphor is a metaphor that carries on through the entirety of the poem.

34. Metaphysical Conceit • A metaphysical conceit is a conceit where the objects of comparison have no apparent connection. For example, in George Herbert’s poem Praise, he compares God’s generosity to a bottle full of endless tears. Another example is John Donne’s poem The Flea.

35. So what exactly is a “conceit”? • An elaborate, exaggerated metaphor, usually strained or far-fetched in nature, comparing two incredibly dissimilar things. • When the stanza of a poem contains a conceit, the stanza itself can be called a “conceit,” as with the octet in Donne’s Holy Sonnet #6.

36. IMAGERY • You can also consider the imagery used by the poets. Do NOT become bogged down in discussion of single images • Consider, rather, the whole range of sources of imagery each uses.